The tax applies only to those items of fishing equipment specified in section 4161(a) and this paragraph. Therefore, other items of fishing equipment, such as fishing nets, lines, hooks, sinkers, gaffs, etc., are not subject to the tax. Furthermore, the tax applies only to those specified articles of fishing equipment that are designed or constructed for use in the sport of fishing. Accordingly, the tax does not apply to those articles which, although nominally articles that are specified in section 4161(a), are in the nature of toys or novelties that merely simulate articles of a type referred to in section 4161(a), and are not designed or constructed for practical use in the sport of fishing.
26 C.F.R. §48.4161(a)-1